A data path in a data center typically consists of several cables connected end to end, often using a patch panel, which is generally defined as a device containing pairs of passive sockets. Typically, two optical fiber cables are joined by physically inserting one end of each cable into one side (front or back) of a socket pair. In addition, optical fiber cables have separate transmit and receive lines and each connection consists of two cable ends. Thus, in a conventional rack mounted patch panel having 24 connections per panel, there are up to 96 optical fiber cables leading to the patch panel. In addition, a conventional rack can accommodate 47 patch panels, resulting in a maximum of 4512 cables leading in and out of a rack. Moreover, relatively large data centers could contain hundreds if not thousands of racks, each with thousands of cables.
The physical presence and locations of items in a data center, including the cables described above, as well as other assets in the data center, are typically determined manually. For example, during an inventory process, a network administrator typically walks from rack to rack around the data center and manually records the presence and location of each item in the data center. The network administrator also typically determines whether various items are correctly connected to each other as well as whether the items have been moved or replaced. Manual review and recordation of such information is time consuming, costly, and overly susceptible to human error.
The difficulties in manually tracking the cables, is further exacerbated by the fact that only the front or back side of a patch panel is visible at any one time, thus making it more difficult to make a direct confirmation of a completed junction. Moreover, the density of connections and the awkward positioning of cables present a major challenge in documenting which cables are disconnected, which are connected, and to what they are connected.